New Cautionary Tales

signedfirst editionHardcover

1930·London

by Belloc, H[ilaire]; Bentley, N[icolas] (Illustrations)

London: Duckworth, 1930. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/very good. Bentley, Nicolas. First printing, octavo size, 79 pp., inscribed by Hilaire Belloc. Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953), a prolific writer and poet as well as an avid sailor; he composed many poems of both comic and serious nature, and he would often collaborate with the noted writer G. K. Chesterton. Belloc wrote several volumes of children's poetry, often for the purpose of parody and humour, and these works brought him commercial success and acclaim. "New Cautionary Tales", published over twenty years after Belloc's famed "Cautionary Tales for Children", is a collection of satirical poems much in the same vein as the previous collection, in parodying cautionary tales of disobedient children meeting their untimely demises; illustrated by Nicolas Bentley (1907-1978), the book is filled with humorous cartoons depicting absurd situations and accidents. This copy is inscribed by Belloc, "To / Hoffman Nickerson / from the author / H Belloc. / Nov. 5. 1933."; an American author, Hoffman Nickerson (1888-1965) is best known for his writings on military and religious history, and he formed a correspondence with Belloc towards the end of World War I. Belloc also left a manuscript annotation on page 16, correcting the word "nice" for "mice", with explanatory notes and the author's initials in the margin. ___DESCRIPTION: Quarter white cloth with champagne-coloured paper boards, black lettering and illustration in orange, blue, and brown on the front board, black lettering and rules on the spine, title page with black-and-white illustration by Bentley, black-and-white illustrations by Bentley throughout; octavo size (8.5" by 6.75"), pagination: [1-6] 7-79, inscribed by Hilaire Belloc on the front free endpaper as mentioned above. In a paper dust jacket with illustration matching the front board and black lettering on the front panel, black lettering on the spine, a list of other books by Belloc on the rear panel, and a description of the book on the front flap; the dust jacket is unclipped with the original price of "5/- net" on the front flap. ___CONDITION: Volume is near fine, with straight corners without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; boards are clean overall with a few spots of soiling, spine is very slightly cocked, small shallow crease to the paper on the front board, light toning to the endpapers and to the margins of the interior pages. The dust jacket is very good, unclipped, with bright colours, light overall soiling, some chipping to the tops and bottoms of the folds, particularly at the head of the spine, but does not obscure text, and spine is lightly sunned. ___CITATION: Cahill no. 115B. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
(Inventory #: 19011802)

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